Berlin Scout reaches Eagle rank by helping local birds

New Troop 48 eagle scout Magnus Pascu stands with the 37 constructed bird boxes he made to be placed in New Brooklyn Park.

Another local student has reached his Eagle Scout rank this year after the completion of his community project, which was aimed at helping local birds at a Camden County park.

Magnus Pascu, a member of Troop 48 in Berlin who lives in Winslow Township, first got involved in Scouting in Cub Scouts with Pack 132 in Sicklerville. Over the years, the people and friends he’s met really made an impression on him as he grew up, while also enjoying the numerous activities the Scouts do each and every year.

When looking for a project to complete to gain his Eagle Scout status, Pascu got in contact with a member of the South Jersey Land and Water Trust, thanks to his work as a volunteer with the group over the years, and was made aware that bird boxes at New Brooklyn Park in Sicklerville were in need of serious repair.

“My original project was going to be to build a bridge for a historical society in Medford,” said Pascu. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to work out, but I also volunteer a lot of my time with the South Jersey Land and Water Trust. They do a lot of cleanups around Camden County, and having volunteered at the park before, they made me aware that the bird boxes project could be something of note.”

According to Pascu, before starting the project he took a trip to the park to see the bird boxes for himself, with several being destroyed or unusable for birds, while others were completely gone.

In response, Pascu and his father constructed 37 new bluebird boxes for the local park. After making the decision around May to work on the project, Pascu thought it might take longer to construct the 37 bluebird boxes.

Luckily, Pascu was able to complete the construction phase of the project within one day. Over two days after the construction, Pascu and fellow Scouts installed 12 of the bluebird boxes on the second day of the project, with even more going in the park on the third day.

However, not all have been installed just yet, due to eggs being in some of the boxes that were still in stable condition, but they can be installed when the timing is right.

Since the completion of the project and hearing the news that he will indeed be an Eagle Scout, Pascu says he couldn’t be happier and more appreciative of the hard work and help from friends and family during the process.

“It’s the feeling you get when a lot of hard work pays off,” said Pascu. “It’s relief, it’s happiness, it’s euphoric.”

While in the Scouts, Pascu has camped for nearly 200 nights, backpacked around 350 miles and cycled for nearly 300 miles while also participating in numerous service projects over the years. Earlier this year, Pascu also received the Union League of Philadelphia Good Citizenship Award.